Natural diamonds have also been given a reputation for being "blood diamonds" due to the long-standing problems of the diamond mining industry, including the destruction of the ecology of the mines, the inequality of income and the poor working conditions. This has been the central basis of the attack on natural diamonds by the proponents of lab-grown diamonds.
While natural diamonds have been challenged, it seems that lab-grown diamonds have been given the opportunity to take advantage of the situation. Lab-grown diamonds have three main advantages over natural diamonds: firstly, a sustainable green narrative that is attractive to consumers; secondly, lower prices and higher profits; and thirdly, mass production and quality control.
Firstly, lab-grown diamonds are made up of the same elemental carbon as natural diamonds. Unlike natural diamonds,cvd lab grown diamonds are "born" in a laboratory and are grown in an environment that simulates the growth of a natural diamond, so that they are physically, chemically and optically identical to natural diamonds. With less mining, polishing and processes, the carbon footprint, ethics and waste associated with lab-grown diamonds are theoretically lower than those of natural diamonds.
And with the younger generation becoming a major increment in the jewellery market, their focus on sustainability issues has made lab-grown diamonds, which carry the 'green mark', the preferred choice of most young consumers. Studies have shown that traditional mining requires the digging and removal of 1,000 metric tonnes of stone and soil to produce one carat of diamonds, uses 3,890 litres of water and generates over 108 kilograms of carbon emissions, and knowing this, coupled with the issue of unethical mining at the source of diamonds, adds another layer of reason for most millennials to shy away from natural diamonds at a time when their pockets are not so rich.